Cruise Line Adds Port as Embarkation Option for World Voyage

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Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines added an embarkation port, Liverpool, for the upcoming world cruise aboard the 1,380-guest Bolette. The ship on January 4, 2025 will depart the English city to begin a 110-night โ€œVoyage of Exploration Around the World.โ€

The ship, which formerly sailed as Amsterdam for Holland America Line, will make her first call at Southampton, where guests can also embark on the vessel. Bolette will conclude the world voyage in Liverpool as well, on April 24, 2025, after a disembarkation option in Southampton three days earlier.

Bolette Cruise Ship
Bolette Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: Roland Magnusson)

โ€œWeโ€™re incredibly proud to once again be able to offer World Cruise departures from Liverpool. We know how much our guests value being able to explore the world, and whatโ€™s better than being able to set sail right from their doorstep,โ€ said Clare Ward, director of product and customer services at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.

โ€œOur team are passionate about taking our guests to visit the furthest corners of the globe and experience a variety of unique cultures,โ€ added Ward.

Other changes to the world voyage include a new 87-night segment, โ€œExploring South America and Australia from Liverpool,โ€ which concludes in Cape Town, South Africa. The cruise fare includes return air to London from Cape Town.

Destinations on the segment itinerary, which begins on January 4, 2025, feature ports in Portugal and Spain before a transatlantic crossing to ports in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile, followed by calls in French Polynesia, Tahiti, Cook Island, and Australia. From there the ship sails to South Africa.

โ€œThis World Cruise will see Bolette sail through the Magellan Strait taking in Easter Island, idyllic Tahitian islands and iconic Australian cities, before heading on to Africa where guests can seek out wildlife on a safari or visit South Africaโ€™s vineyards,โ€ said Ward.

The cruise line had earlier announced three other segments, including a 56-night cruise that originally began in Southampton in January 6, 2025. With the Liverpool option, that segment can now begin in Liverpool on January 4, 2025. 

During this segment, which mirrors the 87-night sailing, guests will enjoy the voyage through the shipโ€™s arrival in Australia, then debark the ship in Sydney, Australia, and spend one overnight there with hotel accommodations included before flights back to the UK.

The two other, previously announced segments are a 29-night journey, โ€œAustralian and South African Discovery,โ€ which departs from Sydney on March 3, 2025 and explores several destinations Down Under, such as Melbourne, Hobart, and Fremantle.

The ship then sails to South Africa, calling at Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The itinerary includes an overnight in Sydney at the start of the segment and an overnight in Cape Town at the conclusion, before flights to the UK.

The shortest segment, the 21-day โ€œScenic Vistas and Diverse Cultures of Africa,โ€ departs from Cape Town on April 1, 2025 and features calls in Luderitz and Walvis Bay, Namibia, and Dakar, Senegal.

Land explorations include Big Five safaris and visits to the Namib desert and the island of St. Helena. The segment also calls at Santa Cruz de la Palma, Spain, and Funchal, Portugal, before ending in Southampton.  

Liverpool Welcomes Cruise Ships From All Major Brands

Liverpool is a major cargo and cruise port on Englandโ€™s northwest coast and is a major metro area home to about 500,000 people. 

Read Also: Cruise Line Announces Two New Grand Voyages

In 2024, 95 cruise ships operated by the major brands are slated to call, including Carnival Cruise Lineโ€™s Carnival Legend, Royal Caribbeanโ€™s Jewel of the Seas, AIDA Cruisesโ€™ AIDAbella, Regent Seven Seas Cruisesโ€™ Seven Seas Splendor, Disney Cruise Lineโ€™s Disney Dream, and Cunardโ€™s Queen Mary 2.

In fact, Cunard recently honored Liverpool by naming the entire city as a symbolic godmother to the lineโ€™s newest ship, Queen Anne, which was christened at the port of Liverpool on June 3, 2024.

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Donna Tunney
Donna Tunney
Donna Tunney is a travel news/feature writer and editor with 20-plus years covering cruise news, luxury travel, and Europe and UK destinations. A former staffer at Travel Weekly and at the USAToday Network, she also was a luxury travel columnist at Travel Market Report, and a cruise columnist at Sherman's Travel.

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